7 things bringing me joy this fall

1. This beautiful little patchwork collection made by Laura. The pouch is made with the brand new patchwork pouch pattern. Find tutorials for the mice, both beds and pin cushion girl on the free pattern page.

2. These crepe paper bat treat packages. And this vintage book. The costumes are so funny and inventive and the photos are Soooo 80’s! Also in the seasonal vein- an excellent crow by Jill.
And checkout this post from the archive- a creepy retrospective.

forget me not and pink and orange flowers in a small white vase

3. The last Forget Me Not – I thought it was over a couple weeks ago and this last beauty popped up. I can’t help projecting myself into next summer – there will be lots of Forget Me Nots, Cosmos, Lavender, Globe Amaranth and Paper Daisies.

4. An  interview with textile artist Janet Bolton. I keep coming back to it. I love hearing about her process, inspirations and approach to picture making. Find it here.

green wool trees on wood bases.

5. Planning the next big ornament and little gift roundup and sew-alongs. I sure do love tiny gift season. That will be the first post for November. The little trees were made by Anna using the free woebegone pine sewing tutorial.

small blue and white painted ceramic bottles in an early american style

6. Fresh from the kiln – and more on the way. I’ve also got some ornaments in the work this year. The imagery from the daily paintings fuels the ceramics and vice versa.

7. This cardboard caravan for the tiny doll created by Loribeth.  I want to live by the sea in this dear little place. So cozy.

And a couple notes:

the stitch club community

Membership is temporarily closed. I’m working on structure (as in having a real plan), storage strategy and sustainability at the moment – lots of tedious and not at all exciting work. The community started a little more than a year ago as an experiment and I’ve learned a lot. There are things I would have done differently from the start if I had any clue how to be the administrator of a community. Hindsight… The good news is it’s a wonderful group that I hope can continue to grow. And it was a super important part of the 2023 100 day stitch book.

I’ll share more soon about how the stitch club will be growing and changing. I can tell you at this moment though that those changes will include it no longer being a free offering – that is unsustainable. The good news is there will be more fun and interactive stuff (like scrap swaps and community projects). Always happy to have your input and suggestions.

onward!

ann

P S – Happy North American Database Update day to those who celebrate! I’ve had such website stress lately. I’m sure you will be delighted to know that the ann wood handmade infrastructure now includes a brand new MySQL database management system.

Are you ready for ornament sewing season? What’s on your little gift sewing list this year? (I’ve got woebegone pines, fish and patchwork pouches on my list at the moment) Let us know in the comments.

19 Comments

  1. Rosemary B

    I adore the pottery. It reminds me of Delft Blue from Holland of which I have a lot of, tea sets, pots, vases, plates wall plaques etc as my parents were from Holland and we still have family over there

    • Thank you – Delft is definitely one of the inspirations.

  2. I V Anderson

    Rest up. And have some fun. Be free. Be happy. Thank you for everything you’ve given so far. You share so much joy!

  3. The costume book is a hoot. I found it to check out for free on openlibrary.org. The patchwork is marvelous and my tiny rag dolls all want to move into the cardboard caravan.

  4. When I see one of your emails in my inbox it makes my heart sing!

  5. Dare I admit to owning that vintage costume book? Yup! I bought it in a second-hand book shop. It is still good for a laugh. And no, I didn’t make any of the costumes.

  6. Celia Stapleton

    The Stitch Community you have built is priceless. We love it and hope it can be sustainable. Membership fee is the part missing for you. The behind the scenes/curtain is a Big Deal.

  7. Loribeth Robare

    Ann, Thanks so much for the caravan mention. That was very kind of you!

  8. Ok i am feeling a wee bit left out. What is the Costume book you all are talking about. Who wrote it and what is the title of the book. I do love that sweet wagon. Actually I love all of Ann’s posts and have almost all of her patterns. Like many, I too smile every time I see one of her emails filled with lots of magic.

    • Julie Hagan Bloch

      It’s Jane Asher’s Fancy Dress book. There’s a link in the email.

    • Thanks Marcy!There is a link to the book above – checkout 2. in the post above.

  9. Laurie Lasala-Tuttle

    It’s all beautiful Ann! I do love when you post!! ❤

  10. MaryElizabeth Calais

    So Ann, how are you enjoying working w tiny kilm. I so enjoyed making pottery when in my youth. My fav was handbuilding. You’re inspiring me to try the mini kiln to make the tiny pottery. I fell in love with Rowe Pottery when in Williamsburg long ago. Purchased a couple of lovely large table lamps to embellish my Colonial style home at the time. I would enjoy making the tiny pottery for my very young granddaughter.

    Please tell me about where to your fav brand of Kiln and what clay you use for these precious bitty ones. Peace and hello to you. Keep up your wonderful work. It’s so fun & fantastic 🙂 Liz

  11. Dear Ann,
    Your little Woebegone trees are so darling and addictive. I made 20 last night!! Thank you so much for the free tutorial, you are a generous artist/maker.
    Warmly,
    Janet Metzger

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