Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Refresh Your Wardrobe


Thank you to Jasmin and all the folks at Ecouterre for sharing our Circle Spiral Applique from Alabama Studio Style.

 

Labels:
Projects
Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Coffee & Atticus Finch


Butch and Maggie built me a beautiful bird atrium for Mother’s Day this year and my surprise came complete with a Finch pair. Maggie named them Whitey and Blacky (although I loved the name Atticus Finch from my favorite book – and movie: To Kill A Mockingbird).

The two got busy building a nest as soon as they moved into their new home. Maggie has been collecting grass and twigs for their building adventures over the last month and Whitey has already begun to lay eggs. 
 
I love to drink our morning coffee on the back porch in these first few days of summer and watch the two lovers frolic around their atrium.
 
 
 

 

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Blackberries & Cottage Cheese Pancakes


We picked blackberries this morning as the sun was coming up over the trees.

Butch treated us to his (no longer) secret recipe for Cottage Cheese Pancakes from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook to pair with our morning harvest.
 
The perfect combination:
 
Blackberry Compote
 
2 cups fresh blackberries
1/8 cup water
 
Place all the ingredients in a pan and simmer over low heat for approximately 20 minutes.
 
Cottage Cheese Pancakes (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
 
1 cup large-curd cottage cheese
3 eggs
2 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup white flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
 
Dry the cottage cheese in a sieve, pressing it down firmly and letting it stand and drip for an hour or so. Beat the eggs well. Add cottage cheese, butter, flour and salt and mix only enough to blend. Drop by spoonfuls onto buttered, medium heat griddle. Keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve.
 
Serve pancakes hot, topped with Blackberry Compote and drizzle with 1 tablespoon pure Maple Syrup.
 

 

Monday, June 28, 2010

Svalbard Global Seed Vault


Beautiful images of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault––photographed exclusively for NOWNESS by Greg White.

Some believe that this vault will be the saving grace for a future where hybrid seeds have altered the crops of the world.

 

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Apalachicola Bound


Apalachicola bound through the Longleaf Forest and holding my breath to see our Gulf…

How to brace oneself for the image?
 
 
 
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Collection & Community



A new way to see
Collection & Community.

Labels:
Design
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

DBA 98 Pen


I know that I am a bit late on this as many good articles have been out about these pens BUT... this really is a good idea, well designed and beautifully packaged .

Something that you don't think about all the time and my office is filled with the "bad" kind of pens... not for long.

I used one of the DBA pens to decorate The Endless Notebook (another well designed product by DBA) that are being auctioned to support Riverkeeper. (The launch was last month in New York and, yes, I am still catching up).

Good Design:  www.dba-co.com

 

Labels:
Design
Tuesday, June 15, 2010

In Our Blood


Thinking about all of our consumption, plastic, and the oil spill that spoils our beautiful home.

From my son Zach today, a thoughtful piece about our role:  


SETH BORENSTEIN
Published: Jun 11, 2010
 
WASHINGTON (AP) - Has the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico got you so mad you're ready to quit Big Oil?
 
Ready to park the car and take up bike-riding or walking? Well, your bike and your sneakers have petroleum products in them. And sure, you can curb energy use by shutting off the AC, but the electric fans you switch to have plastic from oil and gas in them. And the insulation to keep your home cool, also started as oil and gas. Without all that, you'll sweat and it'll be all too noticeable because deodorant comes from oil and gas too.

You can't even escape petroleum products with a nice cool fast-food milkshake - which probably has a petrochemical-based thickener.

Oil is everywhere. It's in carpeting, furniture, computers and clothing. It's in the most personal of products like toothpaste, shaving cream, lipstick and vitamin capsules. Petrochemicals are the glue of our modern lives and even in glue, too.

Because of that, petrochemicals are in our blood.

Read the full article here: Boycott Big Oil? Prepare to give up your lifestyle


We need a revolution for this century...in our blood?

*Photo by Robert Rausch for our Revolution collection

Monday, June 14, 2010

Learning from Vernacular


I love the juxtaposition of images, architecture, and landscape in this exhibition by Deidi von Schaewen.

Visible only by train,  the images make me long for a travel via rail today.
 

Thursday, June 10, 2010

NOWNESS



NOWNESS - Every day of the month there is something to love.

Look for Alabama Chanin on NOWNESS in the coming months thanks to Wyatt Troll and all our friends at Commune.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Poison & Wine


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:

Poison & Wine - EP

Labels:
Music
Thursday, June 3, 2010

Good Work


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...
 
 

 

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

American Flag Quilt


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
 
We have applied a variety of stencils from our Alabama Chanin archives to our DIY Flag Quilt Kit; however, you may use any stencils that you have available in any combination of techniques from Alabama Stitch Book and/or Alabama Studio Style
 
 
Supplies
 
 
 1/2 yard 100% Organic Cotton Fabric in Storm Blue
 
 2 yards 100% Organic Cotton Fabric in Burgundy
 
 2 yards 100% Organic Cotton Fabric in Ruby
 
 2 yards 100% Organic Cotton Fabric in Parchment
 
 2 yards 100% Organic Cotton Fabric in Sand
 
 
 
Approximately 8 spools Coats & Clark Button Craft Thread in Maroon #41B (depending on the amount of embellishment you plan to incorporate).
 
Approximately 8 spools Coats & Clark Button Craft Thread in Dogwood #155 (depending on the amount of embellishment you plan to incorporate).
 
 
 
 
 
 
Measurements and Guide below:
 
Finished Size: 103” X 62”
 
The quilt is worked up in long stripes that are 5” wide and 103” long (finished width) with 1/4" seam allowances on each side – 5 1/2" cut width. (We cut the stripes into smaller pieces that we can incorporate scraps into our final project and to add color variation.)
 
The short stripes are 5” x 64” with 1/4" seam allowances – 5 1/2" cut width – on each side and broken into smaller pieces as well.
 
 We also chose to break the blue star area up into smaller parts; however, you could choose to make this one piece with appliquéd stars. The finished measurement of the blue field is 32” in height and 39 “wide. 
 
 
Below is a guide to the stencils that we chose for our project but remember that any stencil will work and the quilt works up lovely with no embellishment at all.
 
 
Technique by Block:
 
       Abbie’s Flower Applique
B         Clematis Reverse Applique
C         Apples Reverse Applique
D         String Quilted
E         Lotus Applique
F          Climbing Rose Reverse Applique
G         Rose in 3-D Applique
H         Poetry Stenciled Only
I           Dove Reverse Applique
J          Gothic Quilted
K         Trumpet Vine Reverse Applique
L          Clematis Reverse Applique
M         Bloomers Reverse Applique
N         Stripe Reverse Applique
O         Fish Double Reverse Applique
P         Poetry Reverse Applique
Q         Black & White Stenciled Only
R         Anna’s Garden Reverse Applique
S         Hearts Reverse Applique
T          Spiral Stenciled Only
U         Rose 3-D Applique
V         Dove Reverse Applique
W        Apples Reverse Applique
X         Abbie’s Flower Applique
Y         Spiral Stenciled Only
Z          Lotus Applique
AA       Vitae Reverse Applique
BB       Black & White Stenciled Only
CC      Abbie’s Flower Applique
DD      Moths Reverse Applique
EE       Fish Double Reverse Applique
FF       Small Rooster Reverse Applique
GG      Clematis Reverse Applique
HH      Small Latin Cross Reverse Applique
II          Stripe Reverse Applique
JJ        Skull & Crossbones Reverse Applique
KK       Lotus Applique
LL        String Quilted
MM      Moths Reverse Applique
NN      Abbie’s Flower Applique
OO      Rose 3-D Applique
PP       Apples Reverse Applique
QQ      Climbing Rose Reverse Applique
RR      Pig Reverse Applique
SS       Flowers & Machine Reverse Applique
TT        Poetry Reverse Applique
UU      Stripe Reverse Applique
VV       Dove Reverse Applique
WW     Gothic Quilted
XX       String Quilted
YY       Climbing Rose Reverse Applique
ZZ       Lotus Applique
AAA    Anna’s Garden Reverse Applique
BBB    Black & White Stenciled Only
CCC   String Quilted
DDD   Clematis Reverse Applique
EEE    Trumpet Vine Reverse Applique
FFF     Small Rooster Reverse Applique
GGG   Hearts Reverse Applique
 
Embellish as desired, construct in strips, add appliquéd stars and enjoy your summer...
 
Get inspired by Kaffe Fassett’s Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts and use our Alabama Studio Style techniques to create your own…
 

 

Labels:
Projects
Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Charles Moore: 1931 -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 by Charles Moore – March 1931 to March 2010

 

Tuesday, June 1, 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.
 

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