Boot Buoys

What are these?  Something everyone needs!  Melinda Pfohl created these using my City of Lakes fabric to hold your boots upright in your closet. Ingenious!

My boots are always slumped like this and awkwardly stored. These Boot Buoys slip into your boots and hold the upright.

Melinda told me people will buy them as a gift for a friend and they like it so much, they buy them for their friends and so on and so on.  Such a smart design and they are light as a feather.

I liked the gray ribbon trim that matched my fabric. The sewing and design is very professional and beautifully packaged. I love the logo. She has made these in other colors as well. You may contact Melinda to get a pair for yourself or for your friend at pfohl.melinda@gmail.com. I enjoyed meeting her and seeing how she is using my City of Lakes lake names fabric from Modern Yardage.

Wild at Heart

Edible art? Yes! It's Valentine's Day week and St. Croix Chocolate Company released their "Wild at Heart" limited edition box of Chocolates containing two of my illustrations in coco butter on truffles. This project benefits The Wildlife Science Center near Forest Lake, Minnesota by donating some of the proceeds and also includes a buy one/get one free admission to visit their facility.

So how did this project evolve?  I had collaborated with Robyn from SCCC in the past with a ginkgo illustration topped on their handmade truffles and presented in handmade boxes covered in my ginkgo fabric. It was tasty and stunning, so I was eager to work with her again on this project.

Robyn liked my white snow owl and fox illustration and asked me to modify them to very simple color shapes that could fit on a 1.5" square shape.  So I eliminated detail, thickened line weights and sent her digital files that would be made into butter cream transfer sheets.

We chose The Wildlife Science Center based upon a recommendation by a University of Minnesota grad who spent time there for his undergrad study.  Here's a video of the Executive Director, Peggy Callahan, sharing a look at the Center and explaining their animal research and education.


These beautifully birch boxed chocolates are available to purchase at the St. Croix Chocolate Co. website here.

Minneapolis Lakes Convenience Quilt panel

My new convenience quilt panel for Modern Yardage is from my new City of Lakes Collection. It features our beautiful lakes and some of the fun activities we enjoy including biking, sailing, listening to music at the Bandshell, and fishing.  This panel comes as one large piece of fabric ready to quilt. I watched Lindsey at The Linden Tree sew my design from my Amelia Harper convenience quilt panel and wanted to test my own skills on this one. It was really fun to stitch together!  The longest part was hand stitching the binding because I didn't trust myself to stitch a straight line....I'm a bit rusty. 

If you want to sew one yourself, here's the link to order one. Have fun!

Finished quilt measures 36x54"

one piece panel with the design 

The large Uptown icon is a landmark between Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles. Minneapolis connects the lakes with walking and biking trails.

This section shows the Minneapolis skyline, the names of the lakes in script, a tree pattern and a pattern of the lakes with some icons like Minne the Sea Monster that appears in different lakes each summer.

Polka dots on the back side and a bright orange trim pulled it all together.

Small Framed Art

Frame my cards?  I hear people say they are purchasing my cards to frame and I always wonder how they turn out. Well, I tried it myself and wanted to share my results with you.

First of all I was inspired by the frames at Master Framers in St. Paul. They hosted an art event at their shop last weekend and I was one of five artisans displaying my cards and prints. While there, I looked thru their sale bin of small ready made frames and picked out a few to buy.

There was a nice variety of woods and metals to chose from.  My favorite frame deal came with a silk-like mat in it with a gray metal frame.  It worked perfectly with the colors in my thistle card.  I trimmed off the card and mounted it directly on top of the mat. Make sure you leave enough space around the card when you choose a frame.

I'll bring it along to my next art event to show how nice my cards looked framed.

Personalized Baby Blankets

Cash James loves his new blanket. I designed the fabric for Modern Yardage so that it can be customized for any child's name. Of course, I wanted to create one for my great nephew Cash in the turquoise and a coral colored version for his cousin, my great niece Madelyn Rose.

Melissa at The Linden Tree helped me select the soft, fuzzy Cuddle fabric for the back of the blanket and sew it together in her shop. I am so grateful to have her help to bring these fun sewing projects to life.   They offer sewing classes to help you sew, too.

Do you know a child who would love a blanket with their name on it?  All you do is submit the name with your order at Modern Yardage and it will be placed in the blanket pattern. It is available in two different print scales, too. The scale shown here is large.
To order the turquoise fabric click here
To order the coral colored fabric click here.

Great River Road Wrap Up

This is the best looking catfish I've ever seen along the Mississippi. It's home is at Abode Gallery in Stockholm, Wisconsin. They are more than a gallery and to appreciate what they do, check out their website here.  I eagerly dropped off my card catalog with them and am excited to say they have ordered my cards! I am grateful to be in such a wonderful venue.  Here's a few more pics of the gallery.  I did not get to spend enough time in Stockholm and need to go back.

The General Store next to Abode was stocked with great Wisconsin made foods and  gift item. Love the sign.

Onward south to Pepin and the Villa Bellezza Winery. More info here. It's right on why 35 so you can't miss this Italian architecture stunner.  I went into the wine tasting room and sampled 3 different wines expertly described by the hostess. There was an event going on so the other buildings weren't open to explore, but it was a beautiful day to enjoy viewing the vineyard.  

I stopped for lunch at Nelson Cheese Factory and found that delightful as well. It's also right on the Great River Road, highway 35, so you can't miss it. Info here.  It's a market, lunch place, wine room, ice cream shop and has indoor and outdoor seating. It was sunny and near 70 so outside dining was perfect. Again, you must stop here! The food and atmosphere are terrific.

It was after 2:00 when I left and I still had a couple more stops to make. I crossed back over the Mississippi River to get to Winona, Minnesota to stop at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, recommended by my good friend, Marlene. It is located right along the Mississippi in a beautiful building and held marine art collections. The Hudson River School paintings were spectacular. I'd only read about them in Art History classes. I also got to view the new Ansel Adams Exhibit with his stunning black and white photography.  More info here.

Winona was beautiful with its rolling hills of color. I continued traveling south to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin and cut over to the Iowa side at McGregor and down towards Guttenberg where I ran out of daylight before making it to my parent's home. Nature really put on a show this Fall and I'm glad I got to witness it and visit some great towns and shops along the way.  

Plan your own Great River Road trip here.

Visit to Cultural Cloth

Wow! What a pleasant surprise stop this was. While on my trip down the Great River Road, I stopped at the Cultural Cloth store in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. Founder Mary Anne Wise purchases textiles, accessories, rugs and woven goods from women in developing countries to economically empower them.  I love that idea and I love the array of pattern, color and texture on the goods the artists create.

Cultural Cloth located right on 35 so you can't miss it!

I really liked seeing photos of the women artists.

Please stop by to visit this shop and keep in touch with them thru their Facebook page. I am so glad I stopped in to see this shop and learn about the wonderful work they do. I bought the loveliest scarf while there to remind me of this special place. Mary let me take pictures of various patterns and textures in the shop to share with you. Enjoy!