So there I was, enjoying a coffee and cranberry scone while writing posts for the coming week, when the work of Bay area based artist Amy Ahlstrom arrived in my inbox {I love it when that happens}. Apparently, I also love it when quilts and street art become BFFs. Amy, aka The Urban Quilter, mixes the grit of the street, with the softness of fiber art. The result is “a visual love letter to an urban neighborhood or city”… in quilt form. Fantastic, no?

{FYI: “Amy’s quilts will be appearing LIVE at a.Muse Gallery in the Mission starting June 9th. 614 Alabama St. SF. To get an invite go to: http://www.yourmusegallery.com and press contact.” Thanks for the info a.Muse!!}

There is nothing I love more than a sketchbook so thick with creative goodness, it can’t even be closed! My sketchbook is pretty fat, but thanks to Alison Worman, it’s about to get super-sized… beautiful fabrics, thread poking out the sides, layers of cut paper? Yes, yes, yes!

{via Book By It’s Cover}

YES!!! This is exactly what I was talking about… last year I put together a ‘jealously curated’ show called Comfort Food, that featured a whole bunch of sewn, knitted and crocheted food. I loved them all, but the only thing that could have made those pieces better was scale… and then Melbourne based artist Dawn Tan came along with her giant marshmallows, huge crackers, and insanely big bag of Yorkshire pudding mix! Yep, I’m just going to say it… sometimes size does matter.

{via share some candy}

Ahhh, the milky blue pools and mossy hills of a far off land. If you can’t afford a trip to Iceland, no problem… pop on a woolly sweater, crumble up some chocolate cake, and just pretend you’re visiting Iceland. Granted, Vancouver based artist Eszter Burghardt actually went there to do a series of artist residencies, but thanks to her craftiness with a bit of Icelandic wool {top three}, a few ingredients from her baking pantry {bottom three}, and of course her trusty camera, she has brought the landscape of Iceland to us. Gor.ge.ous.

{If you would like to whip yourself up a little bit of Iceland’s barren highlands this weekend, here’s what Eszter uses: poppy seeds, coco powder, coffee, milk, and chocolate cake crumbs… mmmm! Oh, and thanks so much to my friend Michelle for sending me a link to Eszter’s work! xo}

Sí, sí, sí indeed! Ok, I have to admit that I don’t understand anything {except sí} on the mainly Spanish blog of Argentinian artist Andrea Cavagnaro. I do, however, understand that her work is amazing! I always get excited by the stacks of colored felt at the art supply store, but I’ve never really known what to do with it. Do I wish that I’d done something as fantastic as this?… sí.

{titles in english: 1. every love is powerful  2. UFOs  3. inhale/exhale  4. yes}

{via Pattern Pulp … great Q&A with Andrea on there too!}

How cool would I be if I could actually pull off wearing that gorgeous spiky necklace… or that fantastically huge ring? Well hey, if a dog can look fabulous in this stuff, I’m certainly going to give it a try! Stunningly unique felted, and crocheted, wearable art by Portuguese artist Maria João Ribeiro. L.O.V.E.

{Speaking of fab dogs, pop over to sfgirlbybay today – which by the way is where I found Maria’s work – for my new series that just started today! It’s called ‘curated collections’, and the first collection up… you guessed it … pet portraits!}

Poor Teddy… he never saw it coming. One minute he was a cuddly, bedtime pal – the next minute, a beautifully constructed area rug, full of childhood nostalgia, skillfully assembled by Argentinian artist Agustina Woodgate. Oh well, at least he’ll never get forgotten in a closet… now he’s the focal point of the room!

{via Junkculture}

When these girls were in the middle of making some pretty ill-advised life decisions, I bet they never thought  that  photographs of said ill-advised life decisions would wind up on the internet… or on hand-dyed, woolen tapestries for that matter! American artist Erin M. Riley finds her reference images online, usually on Facebook or Google {a hot bed of ill-advised life decisions} and creates elaborate woven art from them.  Such a unique and unexpected combination of medium and subject matter! Love, love, love.

Oh, how I would love to spend Christmas in the cozy, and unbelievably sweet, cottage of Dottie Angel {aka a displaced Brit living near Seattle named Tif}. Seriously, how can one person be this creatively crafty? A handmade Christmas tree covered in buttons, thread, and knitted garlands? Are you kidding me?! Ok, ok, Christmas isn’t about being jealous. It’s about love, and joy, and… oh, who am I kidding?! I’m totally jealous. She’s beyond amazing!

{If you want to know & see more about the life that Dottie Angel leads in her mossy shed, you can pick up “The Suitcase Series Volume Two : Dottie Angel” that Uppercase Gallery will be releasing in the summer of 2011. This is actually on my Christmas Wish List… I’m hoping Santa puts in a pre-order for me!}

I’ve been jealous a lot in the last two years, so this wish list could easily go on forever, however, I’ve managed to control myself as much as humanly possible. Here are a few things that I would love to see under my Christmas tree this year… Santa, are you listening?

Ok, now this last one isn’t art {technically}, but it’s been on my wish list every year since I was a kid:

Mmmm, chips… no, no – not a huge, sculptural installation that looks like a pile of chips {although that would be pretty cool}… I just want plain old potato chips. Preferably with dip.

I hope that all of you get what you’re wishing for too… Happy Holidays everyone! xo

{1. Laura McKellar 2. Martha Rich 3. Wayne White 4. Rachel Denny 5. Abigail Ahern 6. The Exquisite Book 7. Suitcase Series Volume 2 ~ Dottie Angel 8. Su Blackwell 9. Tanja Ufer 10. miki and nora 11. EmersonMade 12. delicious chips}