NOWNESS – Every day of the month there is something to love.NOWNESS
Look for Alabama Chanin on NOWNESS in the coming months thanks to Wyatt Troll and all our friends at Commune.
NOWNESS
June 10, 2010
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POISON + WINE
June 7, 2010
What an inspiration to get to hear The Civil Wars at Billy Reid’s Florence store this weekend.
One of my best music memories of all time is having seen Kate Bush – in a small venue – in New York City in the late eighties; the performance Saturday night ranks right up there.
Beauty and harmony beyond compare:
GOOD WORK
June 3, 2010
In a sea (literally) of bad news about our Gulf, I cleaned up my desk this morning to find some good. While I was traveling over the past few months, a lovely package worked its way to the bottom of a pile just to be discovered this morning.
In the package: Rebuilding After Disaster: The Biloxi Model Home Program from Architecture for Humanity.
Those of you who have purchased an Alabama Builds shirt from us over the last few years have contributed to make the Biloxi Model Home Program a reality.
From the book:
“People say, ‘What kind of house is this?’ And I tell them, ‘This is a good house – a good, sturdy house. It’s a miracle; it’s a blessing. That’s what it is.” - Karen Parker, Homeowner
Just yesterday, I was talking with my friend Cathy from HEATH about how design can make a difference. We were thinking about how designers can set goals, make an impact on communities and create a better world. We were talking about how we can strive to be better designers and do good (better) work.Cameron’s name came up in that conversation as a role model.
Cameron, Architecture for Humanity, and all the designers who have contributed to repairing Biloxi have done really important work – really important.
Get your copy here: Rebuilding After Disaster: The Biloxi Model Home Program and support the good work…
AMERICAN FLAG QUILT – QUILT OF THE MONTH #1
June 2, 2010
I first wrote about Kaffe Fassett’s new book here – when the rains on Nashville turned our eyes to disaster. More than a month has passed and the folks of Nashville still need our help and today I am back to thinking about Kaffe Fassett’s Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts.
Inspired by the lovely geometries Kaffe illustrates – and the upcoming summer months – we have decided to begin a Quilt of the Month project – starting with our all-time favorite American Flag Quilt.
Purchase one of our DIY Flag Quilt Kits which comes cut, stenciled and ready to sew with all the needed notions or follow the instructions below using our 100% organic cotton, up-cycled t-shirts or scraps.
Our DIY Flag Quilt Kit is made from a double layer of our 100% organic cotton in a mixture of Burgundy and Carmine, Storm Blue and Navy, as well as, Parchment and Sand.
Cut quilt pieces are then embroidered and constructed with our Coats & Clark button craft thread in Navy, Maroon and Dogwood using techniques from Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style
CHARLES MOORE: 1931 – 2010
June 1, 2010
Famed photographer Charles Moore changed the course of American history the only way he knew: with his camera.The life of our friend, hero, and neighbor will be celebrated this Saturday.
Please join us for an evening of powerful imagery, inspiration, talks, friends, music food and a look at how one man made a difference:
Life Celebration for Photographer
Charles Lee Moore
Saturday, June 5th
7pm at GAS Design Center
109-A West 6th Street
Tuscumbia, Alabama
Powerful Days indeed…
*Photograph of The Selma March by Charles Moore – March 1931 to March 2010
CHRIS JORDAN: A MESSAGE FROM MIDWAY ATOLL
My dear friend Susan called over the weekend from Mountainfilm in Telluride. She had just heard Chris Jordan speak about his experiences and work on Midway Atoll.
Nothing I have ever seen has made me so drastically consider the plastic I have consumed over the course of my life. These startling (and beautiful) images from Chris have shocked me into action.
I commit (again) to think 1000 times before every purchase I make.
From the website:
“These photographs of albatross chicks were made in September, 2009, on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking.To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.
REFUELED – ISSUE 5
May 30, 2010
Refueled – Issue 5 – Available Now
And featuring a spread on Alabama Chanin Denim.
TEXAS TWO-STEP
May 24, 2010
Check out friend (genius) Liz Lambert: “Profile in Style” – yesterday in T Magazine.
Make your way to Austin, Marfa, and San Antonio.
BIRD WATCHING
May 23, 2010
I woke up this morning in my own bed and to the sound of birds singing.
It is lovely to be home, drinking coffee, and dreaming…
Bird Watching by Paula McCartney – Sunday morning obsession.
MAMA + THE BABIES
May 19, 2010
What to say about Anna Maria Horner?
Not because of her calming aesthetic. I just really love her.
We have bonded (in short, stolen moments) over everything from food, family, work, studio, children (she has six to my two) and sewing, to illness in our families, gardening, and everyday life.
Before I was able to spend time with Anna Maria, I thought that she might just be – you know – a little too sweet. I mean just look at her. NOT SO, her spunk, cheerful sprit and dry humor overwhelmed me with respect – and side-splitting laughter.
I have been sitting with Handmade Beginnings – her newest book – like a good cup of coffee. What I find most beautiful about the book is how family radiates from every page. She is mother, designer, wife, writer and friend.
Congrats to Anna for a lovely story to add to your library:
I will be making Nesting Cubes for all the babies in my life…
and looking forward to our next visit.
From Handmade Beginnings:”Every family has a story. Each time we’ve welcomed a new baby, the story of our own family has a new beginning. Our children have brought more than their own chapter to our story, but they have, in fact, rewritten the rest of us. The whole family, together and individually, is remade into something it wasn’t before- something we wouldn’t have ever guessed or expected. I have always felt compelled during my pregnancies to make items for the new one. Similar to the quintessential image of an expectant mother working away with her knitting needles on a pair of baby booties, I set out to stack fabrics and ideas in high piles that I can work through as my belly grows. Perhaps its just the typical nesting that all mothers go through, or maybe its nervous energy. Whatever the explanation, answering the desire to create as I await a new baby seems to be my own way of nurturing.”
Congrats to Nicole DeCamp for being our sweepstakes winner! And thank you to everyone who commented and shared their stories… prosperous sewing to all.