{Fabric Saturday} Drool worthy fabric + 5 winners...

I've been drooling over this collection of Scandinavian fabric at Hus & Hem ever since Louise (thirtyfive flowers) posted about it on her blog. I suppose that my many times cruising through this collection may have influenced my fabric choices a bit for this "Textile Love" Etsy treasury that I just made. I wanted to put together a small collection of textiles that are either vintage or hand screen printed because I'm particularly fond of both. It's just nice to have a documented list of some of my favorite patterns, colors, textile designers/printmakers & shops. You can view the treasury live here.

But wait... there's something else I want to say.... I have some winners to announce for the  5 Bundle Creative Competition! Again, I had to use a random method to choose the winners- this time random.org helped me out. 

And the 5 creative competitors are :: 

1. Kari Firak  2. Ringmaster  3. Pop-i-cok  4. Heather  5. Amy Freeto 

(& Carmel- the winner of the fabric stash giveaway- is invited to play of course too). 

So, if you see your name, make sure I have your address so I can send you your bundle. You can email me at kristin{at}kltworks{dot}com. Can't wait to see what you all come up with. Remember, I will post pictures of of all 5 creations on the April 1st Fabric Friday post. Thanks to all of you who entered & shared your fabric stories. This isn't the end of my stash. There is more fun to had so stay tuned...

Happy weekend everyone! 

For Japan With Love...

Today I'm joining in the day of silence as a respectful gesture to those dealing with the ongoing disasters happening in Japan right now. To donate visit WWW.FORJAPANWITHLOVE.COM 
{via kickcan & conkers}

For a great list of other ways to donate, check out this link from Huffington Post.


Note: {Fabric Friday} & the list of  winners for the Five Bundles ~ Creative Competition will be be posted on Saturday. 

{behind the studio door} my view...

This is one of my favorite views of my studio. You can't really see where I do most of my work (it's off to the left) but you can see Sayer's work & hangout area. He's been spending more & more time with me in the studio these days & it's always interesting to see where things end up being stashed at the end of our studio time. He's my goofy squirrel. His little work table is so great- it has a storage drawer in it that always has a ton of my spools of thread stored away. If I'm ever out of a color of thread, chances are- it's in his work table. His machine is an old one a friend gave me (minus the needle). It won't be long before I could add the needle- he seem like a natural (or maybe that is wishful thinking). He hoards my lime green felt too so that he can sew Grinch costumes.

It's silly, but I sort of fancy my studio space as an old fashioned, mini toy factory. I love to imagine how Sayer might view this space being a child. I guess that's one of the reasons (other than for inspiration) that I have all of my vintage toys & books stored up there. I want him to feel a sense of wonder & freedom to create anything that pops into his mind. I suppose I feel a great deal of pride knowing that he watches me create things too. Hearing him tell me that he has to help me work makes my heart warm. These days in the studio, while being  simple and frequent, are what favorite memories are made of... 

{Everyday Inspiration} cool kid...

I have a cool kid. I often wonder where he came from & what it would be like to be so cool. His style is effortless & the way he just "chills out" is somewhat intriguing to me. Even when he is wayyy overdue for a haircut- he can rock the look.  I was not what you would call a "cool kid". I knew many & was even friends with some-  but was never classified as one myself. Unless of course, a bad perm, glasses, braces, & a unique awkwardness qualified me in some way. I'm thinking this must be from his dad's side. He's also a total ham  & quite a performer, which is a little more familiar to me. I have a feeling there will be many plays in our future. Needless to say, it's always a fun adventure around here. 

We've sort of developed a special language between the two of us that involves a camera.  Photo shoots are something that we do together often- we've been doing it, just the two of us, for about a year (but as a family since he was born). It started out being "work" related. I would have him model my tees. But over time, it became more of an act of play. The kid knows how to work the camera & I love taking photos of him.  The other day, we found this hat when we were going through boxes. He immediately snatched it up & started hamming it up. As with all hats, he prefers to wear them backwards. From this, a photo opportunity presented itself.  What I didn't realize when I started taking photos, is that the hat belonged to Chris' best friend- the one we named Sayer after, Richard Sayer. Dick owned this hat when he was in high school - so it's over 27 years old now. He is a professional photographer too - so these pictures of Sayer took on a whole new meaning. 

Lately, Sayer has been turning the camera on me (by using his vintage Fisher Price one). He's been interested in taking photos of things like shadows & lightbulbs too. Today he & Chris had a pickle party before Chris left to teach class- which is when I entered the picture. When I was explaining to him that he was made from pickles (I used to go through jars of them when I was pregnant) which is why he probably liked them, he then left the party to go get his camera. Which in turn, gave me the idea to go get mine. He wanted to take a picture of his little set up - then of me eating a pickle. Lucky for you, his camera doesn't have film - so you don't have to see me devouring my pickles. 

My cool kid is growing up so fast & I find it fascinating & enjoyable. He has me laughing & feeling the need to write down what he says & does all of the time. While I'm seriously struggling these days with finding all of the time that I need for klt:works. I need to really take a tip from Sayer & just chill out. 

{Music Monday} littlest birds...

On the heels of Mardi Gras & all that has happened in the world since, the  Be Good Tanyas seemed to fit my mood perfectly today- particularly this song. Happy Music Monday!  {image via hutch studio}

{Four Finds} Japan on my mind...

{Purple Flowers Bubble dress- verypurpleperson- Tokyo}

I'm at a bit of a loss for words concerning the recent events in Japan. I have such a feeling of overwhelming sadness and fear for the people that are going through such a terrifying natural disaster. Every time I hear or see something so horrific on the news, I try to wrap my brain around it- which is sort of impossible really. So, with Japan on my mind, here is some  handmade loveliness that came from some Etsy Shops in Japan for my four finds.  

{Hand Screen Printed Fabrics - Kalla- Shimotsuma, Ibaraki- Japan}

{Dreaming of Spring Pillow Case- Frumafar- Japan}

{Toddler London Messanger Bag- Mee a Bee- Asaka, Japan} 

For some ways to help Japan, check out these links  here & here. 

Hope you all had a safe & thoughtful weekend!