the haystack needle

super natural every day

Thinking back, cooking was really more of a sport for me a few years back. I loved the challenge of taking on some recipe that required a couple dozen ingredients, used every small appliance in my kitchen, and would take the better part of the day to cook. I doubt that thrill of conquering a great, involved recipe will ever completely fade away, but I'm in a much different place with cooking now. I want it to feel more effortless. I want it to be an everyday ritual rather than a challenging weekend project. I want to have a batch of recipes that feel comfortable to come back to cooking all the time. And I want to eat more vegetables, more fresh foods, more of the real, unprocessed food we all know is better for us. I've noticed that after the first four months of being unable to eat in my pregnancy, my body has really shifted in tastes and cravings. Like a bowl of pasta with rich bolognese sauce does not sound appetizing to me now, but butternut squash ravioli with cilantro pesto sounds heavenly. 

Last week, I picked up the new Heidi Swanson cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, from my favorite local bookshop. And I'm truly loving this cookbook. The recipes are approachable and simple, and there are so many that I can't wait to try out. But the recipes also feel more special than all the 30-minute meals in magazines that rarely excite me. The book is centered around vegetarian dishes, but it doesn't feel like a vegetarian cookbook. And this book is gorgeous. I'm amazed how Heidi can craft all these recipes together and take such beautiful photos of the food, too. I was talking to my friend Laura last night and discovered she had the same reaction to the book. And Laura is the kind of cook I aspire to be. She cooks often, she's fearless with recipes, and she's inventive and uses up her pantry supplies. Me, on the other hand, I have yet to make it through a pack of celery without the remaining stalks going limp. (You should check out Laura's blog The Little House in the City, as she posts a lot of recipes that she's trying out.) But that's another thing I've realized about cooking. You don't need to take a class, you don't have to master it, and it's ok if you need a crib sheet of recipes to work off. Just a few new recipes can completely transform your every day cooking. I like that – how it's never too late to start eating better and cooking more. Heidi's Ravioli Salad has already become a comfort go-to recipe for me. (And for the first time ever, I finished off an entire bunch of cilantro before it went bad.) This weekend, I'm trying out a granola recipe from the book, which I have a feeling will become another standby favorite.

Photographs: Heidi Swanson and me

handmade weddings

When I was planning our wedding, I found a million and one reasons to hate the wedding industry, so I tried to make as much as possible by hand to avoid some of the crazy costs tagged to all things wedding —  and to make our day feel unique to us. I wasn't a big blog reader back then, but ironically, now (married) I read a few wedding blogs that I love to follow for inspiration. What I hadn't stumbled on was a book that captured that same modern crafting spirit, until now. Leave it to the Hello!Lucky sisters and an ex-Martha style editor, Shana Faust, to create a gorgeous book full of handmade inspiration. What I love most about Handmade Weddings: it's a resource for those of us who aren't in wedding planning mode, too. Here are a few of my favorites from the book. 

+ Fabric-covered favor boxes: Love this idea for any gift-giving occasion — how sweet for a baby shower where you're wrapping lots of wee things. 

+ Yarn-wrapped bottles: Perfect for a cozy winter party. Inexpensive and easy. 

Test-tube favors: Love those tags, though I think I'd fill with candy!

+ Pegboard seating chart: I'm inspired to riff off this idea to create a message board in our new apartment. The pairing of pegboard and japanese tape is hard to resist. (Remember my kitchen pegboard from the last apartment?) I'm lucky to have pot cabinets in this kitchen for storage, so I think I may repurpose my blue pegboard for use in my home office. 

Photographs: Joseph De Leo, courtesy of Chronicle Books

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of Handmade Weddings from the publisher — though I can guarantee I would have bought one for my library otherwise. The book is awesome! 

french embroidery book

If I knew more about embroidery — or had retained a stitch of French from studying it through high school — I'd snatch up this French embroidery book. I'm not a huge fan of the heart motif, but these projects look undeniably adorable!

Image: Petits Details

chronicle books discount

I thought I'd end the week by passing on a cool discount that popped in my inbox, especially for anyone who's getting a head start on Christmas shopping. Chronicle Books is offering the Haystack Needle readers a sweet 35 percent discount on their titles (plus free ground shipping!) today through December 5th. If you've been with me here for a while, you know how much I love this publisher — Chronicle books are always so gorgeous and well-done. My bookcase seems to be full of their titles! Simply head over to the Chronicle Books site and use the code FRIENDS during checkout for this special discount. Here are a couple Chronicle Book titles that have been on my wishlist. Happy weekend!

Thanks Alyson and Chronicle Books!

 

brooklyn diary

A few days ago, I received my copy of Brooklyn Diary, and I've been flipping through it ever since. This is by far my favorite book from Lines & Shapes. As a Brooklyn relative newcomer who loves living here, I had a feeling I needed this book. But it's packed with even more goodness than I expected: little narratives about Brooklyn creatives whose work I follow — not to mention the book features gorgeous photographs of places in Brooklyn I love, have heard about, or new-to-me spots that now I must go see. If you're not a local, this book tops Lonely Planet as an insider's guide to some of the best walking tours and restaurants and shops to visit here in Brooklyn. Lena Corwin did an amazing job curating Brooklyn Diary. The book captures the creative spirit you feel here. 

Photographs: Lines & Shapes

whip up mini quilts + giveaway!

Today I'm doing a different Friday post, as I'm part of the Whip Up blog tour. And Chronicle Books is so kindly giving away one copy of this lovely book by Kathreen Ricketson, Whip Up Mini Quilts, to one of you! Simply leave a comment below by June 17th for a chance to win. 

I've personally never made a quilt, yet. It's on my list of crafting projects that I plan to accomplish at some point soon. But for a novice like me, whipping up a queen-size quilt seems beyond mission impossible. The skills, the time, the patience. Crafting is all about pleasure, but I for one revel in that feeling of finishing a project you love. That's why this concept of mini quilts is so appealing to me: a quilt that can be finished as a weekend project. 

 

I asked Kathreen about decorating with mini quilts, and how to display them as wall art. I love the way her mini quilts look hung up on the wall in the book. And if I finished a quilt, the first place I'd want to put it is prominently displayed in a look-how-amazing-I-made-a-quilt gesture of satisfaction. But I couldn't figure out what the invisible mounting trick was, so I asked Kathreen. Here's what she said:

 

+ Decide where you want to hang the quilt. Be sure the quilt is not in direct sunlight, since this will fade the fabrics. Avoid areas near heating vents, fireplaces, and walls that may heat up in the summer. Moisture is also bad for textiles.

+ Wherever you hang it, you should change your quilt's location every six months in order to protect it.

+ When hanging your quilt, you need to distribute the weight evenly so you don't put any stress on the seams or the fabric.

+ Never piece them with nails or use metal clips to hang them — this would damage the fabric.

+ To hang your quilt, attach a narrow sleeve to the back of the quilt and hang with a dowel or curtain rod. This distributes the weight evenly and will not damage the quilt. For a small quilt, you can use a picture hanger: just sew two buttonholes into either end of the sleeve, insert a flat strip of wood in the hanging sleeve, and attach the two ends of a picture-hanging wire to the ends of the wooden strip. Hang as you would a painting.

 

Kathreen shared how to make a hanging sleeve:

+ Measure the width of your quilt and cut a strip of cotton or muslin fabric that is the same width as your quilt.

+ Hem the short edges by folding 1/4" under and under again; then pin and sew. 

+ Fold the strip of fabric lengthwise, Wrong sides together, and sew along each of the long sides, making a tube. Lay it out so the seam lies in the center and press it open. You won't turn it Right side out. Instead lay the open seam against the back of the quilt, about 1/2" below where the binding finishes, and whipstitch, or blind stitch through to the quilt front.

And she shared a no-sew method, too!

+ An alternative for short-term quilt hanging that doesn't involve sewing anything to the quilt is to securely attach a strip of stainless steel to the wall, just the width of the quilt. Then use tiny rare-earth magnets all along the front of the quilt, attaching it to the stainless steel strip on the wall. (I also think this would work with a magnetic tool bar if you can't find a strip of stainless steel.)

 

Kathreen did a fantastic job of making this book an easy-to-follow primer for people like me who've never made a quilt.The pretty projects are inspiring (my favorite is the Shibori Sampler, above, which uses a Japanese dyeing method. So cool!) If you like to make things by hand, I think you'd love this book.  

Thanks so much to Kathreen for sharing her quilt-hanging secrets and a big thanks to Chronicle Books for the giveaway! Just leave a comment below for a chance to win the book. I'll pick a random winner on June 17th.

Have a great weekend!

ps. Here's the rest of the Whip Up blog tour, if you'd like to follow along.

UPDATE: I used Random.org and goosie is the lucky winner! Thanks for playing everyone! It was so fun being a part of this blog tour. 

June 1 - Craftzine – essential quilting tools
June 2 - Crafty Pod – book review + giveaway
June 3 - Chronicle Books – Behind the making of the book
June 4 – Indie Fixx – Designing your own mini-quilts
June 7 – Craft Sanity – Piped binding tutorial
June 8 – Hand Made by Alissa chatting about mini quilts
June 9 – My Love for You Background on Mini Quilts
June 10 - Film in the Fridge
June 11 - The Haystack Needle Decorating with mini quilts
June 12 – West Coast Crafty

(Photography by Leigh Beisch for Whip Up Mini Quilts, courtesy of Chronicle Books)

 

cheap chic + antique show wishlist

I'm getting so excited that in just a couple days, I'll be roadtripping with my mom up to the Rhinebeck Antiques Fair. I was sad to miss the May Brimfield Show, and the wait until the July Brimfield dates feels a long ways away. Before my trip to Brimfield last year, the book Recycled Home by Ryland Peters was my inspiration guide — and sparked my search for a vintage shoe trolley. I still can't believe I was so lucky! This time around, another Ryland Peters title is serving as inspiration. I've been flipping through the pages of their new title, Cheap Chic — another super pretty book filled with rooms I'd love to live in. 

This photo above fits the kind of wishlist piece I'll be keeping my eye out for. Dan and I have decided to sell our too-big-for-our-space sofa. It's definitely frustrating that our Room & Board sofa only lasted us a couple years, but seeing as we'll be in this apartment for a while (and we're right now watching TV on wood chairs because the apartment layout is too funky have a 75" sofa fit in front of the TV), well sometimes you have to let go. We want a loveseat-size sofa to replace it. Some small two-seater that's easy to move around and won't suck up such a big footprint in our living space. I'll likely end up going with something affordable and modern (a Muji or IKEA find), because our budget is small, but if I happen to stumble upon a vintage sofa like this Biedermeier bateau-style sofa that's a great deal — it may need to come home with me. Our living room and kitchen is all one space in our loft. And this photo speaks to the vibe I'm hoping to create with the sofa replacement — similar to a banquette that fits just as well in a kitchen nook as a living room.

 

And schoolhouse chairs! We have one black chair just like these on the Cheap Chic cover, which I scooped up at last year's Brimfield show for a mere $15. I would love to find one or two more to add as extra seating around the table. I personally love different color mismatched chairs around a big table. I'm also on the hunt for a dresser, since poor Dan has his clothes in my hand-me-down dresser that is beyond girly (transformed into an Anthropologie knockoff during my single days.) And our bedroom needs a piece of furniture with a more masculine heft to it anyway.

You never know what to expect to find with these big flea markets and antique shows. Mostly I'm excited for a drive outside the city, some quality time with my mom, and the thrill of the hunt (also happy to see a good weather forecast for the weekend!). If any of you have been to the Rhinebeck Antiques Fair before, I'd love any tips!

Photographs by Debi Treloar for Cheap Chic, courtesy of Ryland Peters & Small.

*Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of Cheap Chic from Ryland Peters & Small. But I loved the book and would have bought it anyway and blogged about it. (I first fell in love with this publisher's titles after picking up a copy of Recycled Home on a trip to the Green Depot.)