Christmas village?

Posted in Holiday, Stuff to make by

Speaking of little houses, but of a much more prosaic variety, we took a family trip to Michaels recently and my husband and daughter bonded over their love of the Christmas village. I agree they are fun. But, in my opinion, only in the bank window and not on seasonal display in my house. Wouldn’t it be more fun if we made a village? I asked. No! Apparently, painting the wooden birdhouse cabin and making peg people just didn’t appeal. Sometimes I wish my family shared my conviction that something made is usually better than something bought, but can I force them to make peg people? Probably not. In case the peg people don’t win the day, I need to know: is the Christmas village awfully tacky? I am pretty sure, yes, but sometimes I just can’t tell. If I had to choose, I do like the Dickens collection (right and left).

Meanwhile, I plan to satisfy my holiday crafting needs by making a felt tree skirt.  I am very excited!

Little white houses

Posted in Boston, Recycled materials, Things to see by

I’m not sure how best to describe these: whitewashed Monopoly houses scattered on an oversized board game? Typewritten pages folded into paper houses? Stencilled with bits of poems from Emily Dickinson and tossed about the village of Deerfield, Massachusetts, the houses are the creation of Peter Krasznekewicz, who is currently a junior at Deerfield Academy. (You can see a slideshow of the project here.)

If you live near Boston, it’s worth the field trip to visit and wander around. But if you don’t catch the installation this fall, the Little White House Project will move to the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Mass. in the spring, and maybe to the Boston Children’s Museum. After that, the houses will have a second life: the artist plans to “up-cycle” the structures as material to be used in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house.

Fireworks Pillow

Posted in Sewing, Stuff to make by

Is there a support group for people with a pillow problem? I made more. I confess. But I couldn’t help it. Inspired by Brigit’s post about Jessica Jones’s Outside Oslo fabric line, I ordered a couple of yards (but I chose her Amusement Park line instead).  You can buy the fabric at JCaroline Home. Or, better yet, you can order a chair cover made of Jessica Jones fabric that fits the IKEA Poang chair. Which seriously tempts me. Even though I’ve sworn off IKEA after its insidious circular floor plan left me on the brink of psychological breakdown. So no Poang for me! Even with the nifty chair cover.

The Glass House

Posted in Boston, Brooklyn, Things to see by

This past weekend, we visited the glass house–as in Philip Johnson’s 1949 little gem, not Billy Joel’s album circa sixth grade. Johnson lived to be nearly 100 (he died in 2005) and the house and its grounds have just been opened to tours this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Located in New Canaan, CT, it’s a great architectural field trip from New York, or if you happen to be heading that way.

Johnson’s other building experiments on the property aren’t as impressive–but he was a friend of Frank Stella, and so am I (figuratively, in my case).

Although the McMansions of the super rich have mostly devoured the town, there are still about 90 modern houses sprinkled about. Visit the Irwin Pool House (designed in 1960 by Landis Gores) in lovely Irwin Park for a complete survey of the modern homes in the area.

The Harvard Five in New Canaan: Midcentury Modern Houses by Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes, and Others

Pink and green quilt

Posted in Stuff to make by

I’ve been working away at decorating my daughter’s new bedroom. It’s slow going, but so far we’ve managed to paint her walls green (Limonata!) and I made her this pink and green quilt.

I was inspired by these APC quilts, which are based on traditional Amish patterns.  I liked how the APC quilts used delicate patterns within the bold geometric shapes. I ordered the fabric online, and I missed testing the fabrics against one another other person. I was a little worried that the brown wasn’t quite right, but I think it works. Check out the gorgeous green (Kona Apple Green) on the back. I just love that green!