garlands make me happy

coming up for air after a week of being sick, i wanted to make something. i was inspired by jessica's ten days of garlands and a big stack of newspapers that were accumulating in the big round basket. we've always got paint around and plenty of thread, so sabin and i painted up some newspaper and punched out circles and i sewed and sewed. my garland is a little long (like about 20 meters) and a bit tangled, as molly "helped" me hang it up above my desk. but it's cheery and makes me happy.  with the blues and greens i used, some of the circles have a decidedly globe-like quality, which also makes me happy. this photo of sabin painting her newspaper in fiery orange and red, you guessed it...makes me happy.

what made you happy this weekend?

a few of the things i made today

remember that inspiration i told you about earlier? i could see this wire-y tissue paper butterfly thingie in my mind when i woke up, so i had to make it. you can see some of where i got the idea in my inspiration mosaic below. but i wanted it to be more naive and rough somehow than the ones in the mosaic. i think i succeeded. and in this case, it turned out even better than the picture i had in my head.

then i made a new springy garland for above my desk. this house is so depressing and awful, even the simplest little touches can brighten it up significantly. some bits of a handy little moda hunky dory jelly roll made for a very quick garland indeed. in fact, i made two and i want to give one away! so if you'd like to have a little springy garland for your very own, just leave a comment about how you feed your inspiration.  i'll draw a name at the end of the week and send it to one lucky person!

and lastly, a lilly pulitzer fabric garland for sabin's new room (i got the squares here ages ago). it's not hanging up properly yet, as there is still painting going on. but i think by the end of the week, we will be ready to reveal sabin's new and improved room!

i also painted clouds on the wall, made chicken stock and red velvet cupcakes and even managed to cook a vegetarian meal and completely resist putting in any bacon. and with all that coffee i drank, i expect this creative streak will go on well into the night.

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don't forget the garland giveaway! leave a comment about how you feed your inspiration and you might be the lucky winner of a springy garland to brighten up these grey winter days.

personal trend tracking via flickr faves

i detected the other day while going through my flickr faves, a little obsession with garlands and things garland-y. clicking on the pic above will take you to my photostream where you can find the links to the good folks behind these beauties.

and here's the one i made with a bit of bamboo yarn and some leftover squares from my tanya whelan dolce quilt (which reminds me, i should be working on the binding for that).

oh, and i also discovered that i have a thing about thread:

the last four pics in the mosaic above are my own, so i won't post them separately. have you looked at your flickr faves lately? i'll betcha anything there's a theme (or themes). one more from me, plain spoken quilts: