Top Ten Ireland Trip

Last September my neighbor texted me that she found a super deal on plane tickets to Ireland for Spring Break. Um, Ireland?! For way less than we paid to go Arizona for Christmas?? Say no more. We booked those tickets quick! (Funny side story, my son kept hearing me talk about how cheap the tickets were so he thought that the airplane would be super cheap too i.e. it was going to crash or had less engines or something. It did not.)

It was one of the best decisions I made this year because our families had so much fun! We were there for 10 days so it’s hard to break down all that we did and loved— I’m going to focus only on the top ten things we loved about Ireland (in no particular order since we all had different favorites). If you want the whole slideshow and lecture, give me a call.

Cliffs of Moher

You can see my family hiking on the muddy trail, the cool rock arch, the crazy waves, the rain, and the ocean on the other side

This was my favorite, so of course it’s first. This was an experience for sure. We felt all 4 seasons in just one 2 hour hike plus the strongest wind I’ve ever felt (and that includes hurricane winds). It was gorgeous and terrifying. I was determined to hike to a certain point and everyone else begrudgingly followed along. All the online reviews said this certain trail was “flat and easy for families.” I don’t want to know what the other trail looked like. The ground was muddy and wet and the trail was very close to the edge at points with no fence or anything keeping you from falling (or blowing) off the 400 ft cliffs. The wind was so strong that there were times I got low to the ground to avoid getting blown over. The rain (and later hail) was falling up instead of down. It made for a crazy adventure. I loved it! We started our hike from Hogs Head and walked toward the visitor’s center for less crowds. I didn’t know that the cliffs were on a skinny peninsula, so as you hike, you can see the ocean on the other side as well. It was glorious.

The Food

This discovery was a pleasant surprise. I get super nervous to travel because it’s so hard for me to find something to eat with my autoimmune diet. It causes so much stress for me and people traveling with me who are trying to be kind and find a place where I can eat while at the same time being starving themselves. It’s not fun. Needless to say, this was a huge worry for me about traveling to a foreign country. At least my neighbor also has a few dietary restrictions so I knew I wouldn’t be the only killjoy at mealtimes.

We didn’t need to worry at all! It is national law in Ireland that every single allergen in every single dish has to be labeled on the menu. All right there. It was so convenient. The Irish were also the most accommodating people I’ve ever met. They found ways to work around allergen concerns and also had many vegan/gluten free options (even in the pubs). Plus the food was delicious, inexpensive (even in Dublin), and had huge portions. (And healthy! The Irish experience at McDonald’s is completely different than in the US. The Irish large soda size is between an American medium and small. And I had to bypass many default options for fruits and vegetables and vegan burgers to get my son a “regular” happy meal. It was eye opening, we are so unhealthy here!)

I have to share two examples because I was so shocked and touched.

As mentioned, it was super cold and rainy and we spent most the days walking outside. One restaurant at the Guinness Storehouse had deliciously soul warming stews. I commented to my husband in line that all I wanted was that warm beef stew but it had gluten in it. A worker overheard me saying that, talked to the chef, and he cooked me up a batch of stew without the Guinness so it wouldn’t have gluten. Not because I asked or even spoke to her about it, just because she overheard! It was so kind.

The other time was on the 9 hour plane ride home. I brought plenty of snacks assuming I wouldn’t be able to eat any of the meals, but even 9 hours is a long time to survive off beef jerky and nuts. I asked the flight attendant if any of their meals were gluten free and she informed me that I was supposed to request a special meal when I booked the tickets. I said, ok, no problem. Then a few minutes later she came back with a whole tray of food I could eat, even dessert. Most of the food was labeled for the crew. Flight attendants are never that nice!

Baby Lambs

We braved the cold, wet season to be there for lambing season. Totally worth it. There were baby lambs with their moms in fields EVERYWHERE. Some of them were so tiny. We also rescued a baby lamb! We were driving the famous Ring of Kerry loop (very mountainous and rocky) and saw a lamb tangled the bottom of this fence, pinned against the rock face. I screamed at John to stop and we ran out and got him out. We left him on stable ground near where he was so that his mom could find him again. Leaving him there alone was the hardest thing. I can still picture his little face watching us as we drove away. Everyone was on the verge of tears. Down the road a little bit there was a farm. It was closed but had a sign for sheepdog tours so I emailed them letting them know that we saved a baby lamb but didn’t see its mom. I got an email back later that day saying that they found him and he was reunited with his mom. I thought that was probably them just being nice, but then the next day I got a follow up email saying that he was still doing great.

Sheepdog Demonstration

Dingle, Ireland is one of my favorite places. It is perfectly Ireland with rolling bright green hills and sheep farms, but it’s also along the ocean. Gorgeous. We started out on Dingle with a sheepdog demonstration. So cool. The dogs were hilarious because they were all business when it came to sheep, but once the job was over, they were total dogs wanting all the pets and love from everyone. The whole tour was fascinating because the owner shared a lot about the history of her family and what it’s like raising sheep. She was maybe 10 years older than me, but grew up with 10 siblings in a house with no running water that was heated by a fire pit in the middle of the house. She explained having to gather the cows in the evenings off the beach where all the cool teens would be sunbathing.

Falconry

The second experience we did on Dingle was falconry. The kids loved it. We got to hold two owls, a golden eagle, a hawk, and a ferret (because the kids insisted). The birds flew from arm to arm so we could really see and learn about them up close. The huge owl Gonzo looked like a real life Beanie Boo and had such a large wingspan that he often hit us in the face as he flew. I had no idea owls could have orange eyes! He kept getting distracted because in the at the top of the hill, the ferret kept escaping from his enclosure. Gonzo wanted that ferret so bad.

The Escape Boat

In Dublin, my neighbor found an escape room on a boat. Random I know. And not very Irish. But it ended up being one of our favorite experiences. We divided into two teams (boys against girls) and started locked in a small 5’x5’ jail cell. In the dark. Our job was to escape jail. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who wants to try it, but it was amazing. At one point we had to crawl through a very small dark tunnel. Super clever use of a small space.

Really Old Stuff

Of course we saw many, many castles, cathedrals, monasteries, and random ruins all over Ireland. It became a joke that there were thousand year old ruins hanging out in someone’s backyard or on the side of the road. The picture of the stone cathedral with the Circle K in front of it sums it up or the picture of the huge Rock of Cashel castle fortress that we randomly ran into when we were searching for a bathroom. You turn around and BAM, a castle. My kids were amazed that things were so old there. Some castles were renovated, like Bunratty Castle and Killkenny Castle (highly recommend both tours), while others were completely falling apart but you could crawl through the ruins.

Mayo Glamping

Mayo Glamping was a nerd paradise. The bathroom “throne” was a full Game of Thrones chair. The owner pretty much made his own airbnb theme park. There was a shared kitchen and outdoor fire where we cooked pizzas and made s’mores. It was so charming albeit cold and rainy. County Mayo was also one of the more gorgeous and changing counties that we drove through (we drove through many).

Live Music

You’ll have to see my Instagram for videos (this website has trouble with them) so instead you get this great picture of our front-row-so-close-I-could-strum-that-guitar-seats to the live music at dinner. Despite the look on his face, the accordion-ist (?) was super friendly. We saw so many live acts in pubs, restaurants, on the street, and on St. Patrick’s Day in Kilkenny. Both boys came home with Irish whistles and not the skills to play them.

Rainbows and Daffodils

I expected to see sheep and rain and castles everywhere in Ireland. I did not expect to see so many rainbows and daffodils. Daffodils are my favorite flowers. They were everywhere—by the hundreds—in fields, in window planters, lining driveways, growing in cracks in the sidewalk, on roundabouts, at the gas station, on the mountainside. Such a cheerful sight when the weather is so dreary! The dreary weather also meant that we saw so many rainbows it was ridiculous. I started taking pictures of all of them because it was so crazy. I maybe see one year here. In just one day in Ireland we counted seeing 15!

There you have it, our top ten things, Ireland edition. The kids are excited to already plan our next international trip! I’m going to share more stories and art that I’ve made from the trip on my Rachel Erickson Art instagram account over the next month. Be sure to follow there!

pushing the line

Last month I declared 2023 the year of EDIT. And I actually took it seriously this January! I completely cut out everything and added in only the things I wanted to do. It was so freeing mentally and artistically.

Because I cut out “having to sew” and “having to post daily content” and “having to pitch to companies” and “having to create perfect artwork to sell,” I had a surprising amount of time to draw for fun. Imagine that?! Drawing for fun. Just for me. For years I’ve wanted to develop my art style to be more loose and messy, pretty much the antithesis of the work I do now. I idolize artists who can be so free. (below L to R: Rebecca Green, Luke Edward Hall, Danielle Kroll, Carson Ellis, Clare Caulfield see the rest of the Pinterest Board on Line HERE)

My current style is clean - no mixture of colors, no textures, no uneven or unconnected lines. I’m a perfectionist and even things like written a’s and o’s where the loop isn’t completely closed drive me insane. This month I gave myself permission to make messy ugly art. And I did. And no I won’t show you. Okay, okay, maybe these super creepy rabbits I did in dip pen and pink ink from pausing you tube rabbit videos. So so terrifying.

I decided to start my journey into expression and messiness with LINE. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about value, contrast, texture or color selection (though I did end up add color to the one I’m showing you). I wanted to make messy, energetic, expressive lines. My inspiration was Sir Quentin Blake of Roald Dahl fame.

How the heck does he convey so much with just line????! It looks random, but it’s purposeful. The characters have emotion and personalities. I wanted to try it. Here was my process:

• I knew I needed a candid photo with personality to help me more easily convey emotion. I landed on this cute Christmas morning moment between my daughter and my niece. We got her a princess dress and accessories my daughter helped get her put it all on. (My mom and dad would kill me if I posted them in the background of this photo so I had to choppily block them out, lol.)

• I started with a pencil sketch using my artist pencils. Not bad, so I transferred the sketch to another paper and tried a dip pen and ink version.

• The dip pen and black ink version.

• Pretty impressive for someone who has a physical aversion to lines that don’t connect. This version is still somewhat static, surprisingly more static and emotionless than the pencil sketch.

• Next I transferred the pen drawing to my iPad and redrew it in Procreate. It’s okay, it has more energy. Then I thought, what if I pushed the lines further? What if I exaggerated the hair? What if I exaggerated the princess dress? The focal point is the glove, so what if I exaggerated the glove? What would Sir Quentin do? So I drew it again, and again, and again and again (I won’t bore you with those versions) and I ended up with this.

• Wow. So much different than the original. So expressive. So lively. The composition was off, so I pushed the bow exaggeration even further and added some ground.

I love it! It’s probably the most expressive piece I’ve ever drawn. I’m proud of myself for drawing it again and again and again (something I never do). Lest you think all of my January expressive line endeavors were this successful, let me remind you of the rabbits. May these rabbits haunt your nightmares…. Happy February!

edit

t’s 10:30pm on a Thursday night in 2009 and your phone rings. You flip open your phone to see that, as expected, it’s your younger brother who is away at college.

“Hey Spence, got a paper due?”

“Um, yeh….can you please look at it for me?? Please.”

“When it is due?”

“Tomorrow…at 8 am….”

“You do know what time it is here, right?”

“Pleeeeeeaaaaaaseee.”

This same scenario happened so often that it became a running joke; I would answer all of his calls with—“let me guess, you have a paper that you need me to edit before tomorrow morning.” In reality, I loved it. Ruthlessly critiquing and helping rebuild essays was one of my favorite activities (and something I used to be really good at, not that you can tell anymore from my recent ramblings). I could take writing and tweak it into a perfectly concise, clear and convincing expose. It was exhilarating, though it would have been nice to have more time. (And to be clear, I never wrote papers for him. Only tutored and edited.)

Somehow I’ve lost that editing touch—not just with writing, but also in my life. 2022 was a hard year. So was 2021, and 2020, and 2019, and 2018…I realized that maybe the problem is me, and not the year.

Last year I spent 9 out of the 12 months very sick, first with COVID (2nd time) and then constant unexplained stomach pain that finally ended 6 months later with my gallbladder removal. Recovery from surgery was slow. To top it off, I completely shut down with the worst autoimmune flare I’ve ever experienced in November and December. When I went in to review my bloodwork results with my doctor, I was surprised that my thyroid numbers were good. Her only solution for me was to double my anxiety medication. I thought it was an odd “fix”. For sure my RA antibodies were coming back (she forgot to test them), this has nothing to do with stress. My gut was telling me that I was overwhelmed, but my brain wasn’t acknowledging it yet.

At first I was super proud of myself while making the recent 2022 year in review reel. Look how many projects and trips and collections and collaborations and yada yada yada that I did this year, even while being so sick! I’m super woman! I can do it all!

Then it hit me, what the heck was I doing??! Why did I feel the need to do all those things? Why did I jump so quickly into building my business after resigning from the non-profit disaster of 2021 that probably gave me all those ulcers and caused my gallbladder to die? (Side note: I became president of a local non-profit in 2021 without any experience and walked into a toxic situation that I tried for months to make work and failed miserably. I still don't like to talk about it.) Why did I work so hard to release two back to back fabric collections at the same time I was recovering from surgery?? Why did I kill myself to make and edit a video for quilt market in less than a week at the same time I had a million other family and church obligations and during a freakin' hurricane??! Why am I spending all my energy on my business so that when the kids get home from school and they need me, I'm ornery and spent? Why did I draw two more complete fabric collections in a few days after the first one was rejected? Why didn’t I take a break?! Why didn’t I ask for more help? Why is my self-worth so tied to my productivity?

So this year my goal is to seriously edit my life. Cut all the fluffy filler sentences. Delete it all and start over. I don’t quite know what next year will look like. All I know is I’m going to trust my feelings more. Right now I feel trapped by expectations, I need to free myself. Time to get out the red pen.

Magenta—color of the year

Pantone announced the color of the year for 2023 and I don’t hate it! (I’m looking at you yellow and gray—the worst combo ever, right?!) Magenta is not a color that I use as a main color in my work, but I do like to include it (or a version of it) in almost every piece in small amounts to add depth and vitality. I tend to like a more muted/darker version (like a merlot) of it or a brighter hot pink. To me, magenta is kind of like chartreuse; I’d never make a full chartreuse quilt/artwork, but a splash of the color always enhances the final product. Test your magenta knowledge below with the Magenta Quiz and find the answers below the line. Leave a comment letting me know your score!

1. True or False: Magenta is made from the plant magellanica esculenta.

2. Where did the color magenta get its name?

   a) The name is derived from the Latin magenis, the worm which produces the color.

   b) The color is named after Giorgio Giovanni Magenta, the scientist who discovered it.

   c) The name is honorary after Ferdinand Magellan who discovered the plant in the Philippines.

   d) The name comes from the town Magenta, where a battle occurred that was so bloody that the land was covered in the color magenta.

3. True or False: Magenta is exactly halfway between blue and red on the color spectrum.

4. True or False: We cannot physically see the color magenta.

5. When printing, what color appears if you combine the CYM in CYMK together?

6. On a computer screen, what color do magenta and green make?

7. What color is the complimentary (opposite) color of magenta?

8. True or false: It is impossible to make red by mixing other colors.

9. Name the three primary colors.

10. Match each color with it’s Pantone name:

    Magenta

    Raspberry Wine

    Fuchsia Rose

    Honeysuckle

---

Answers:

1. False, it is man made

2. d

3. True

4. True, our eyes pick up equal amounts of blue and red which our brains translate into magenta.

5. black

6. white

7. green

8. False, magenta and yellow make red! And magenta and cyan make blue!

9. This was a trick question. The primary colors for pigments (like paint or ink) are cyan, yellow, and magenta. The primary colors of visible light are red, yellow and blue.

10. From left to right; fuchsia rose, honeysuckle, magenta, raspberry wine

9 Easy Handmade Holiday Projects

1. Sunny Day Supply Christmas Stocking: it’s a free pattern on their website HERE. There’s lots of unique ideas if you search Instagram under #sunnydaysupplystockingsal

2. Ugly Sweater Christmas Ornament: another free pattern found HERE, or see the other designers’ free patterns HERE.

3. Rose Terrace Christmas quilt: My favorite quilt pattern to make. It’s quick and bold. Find it HERE.

4. Book Ornament: My cousin sent me this idea on Instagram HERE and I just had to make one for each person in our book club with the books we’ve read so far.

5. Little Putz Houses: I made mine from scratch with an old cereal box, but you can buy pre-made ones to paint HERE. Be sure to add lots of glitter!

6. Holiday Embroidery: Perfect for a quick gift found HERE.

7. Improv Tree Table Runner: I used Amy’s free tutorial HERE. It might be cute with some tiny houses mixed in?? Find the house pattern HERE.

8. Scandinavian Fabric Stars: No sew and quick! I gave them to teachers and friends last year with a gift card. I used Mister Domestic’s tutorial HERE.

9. Giant Pom Pom Ornaments: Use this Pom Pom Maker HERE and thick yarn. Mix up several colors to make a cool marbled look.

deep dive: Berthe Morisot

When someone says impressionism, you probably think of Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and maybe Degas or Cezanne. But can you name any female impressionists? I can’t say that I could, especially not Berthe Morisot. More people are familiar with her contemporary, Mary Cassatt, who I didn’t know was an impressionist; however she, Berthe, and Marie Bracquemond were considered “les trois grandes dames” of impressionism at the time.

I became interested in Berthe while visiting the San Diego Museum of Art. The painting above stopped me in my tracks. I love the colors and the breathiness of the strokes, equal to any Van Gogh or Monet. It’s beautiful. I was fascinated to learn that Berthe was not only a great artist, but actually recognized as one during her time (though still not considered as good as the men). Despite being a woman, and barred from formal training unlike her male counterparts, she was accepted into the prestigious Paris Salon exhibition many times. She was friends with many of the other Impressionists and married Edouard Manet’s brother. Learning to paint in plein air (outside) taught her to paint quickly and led to the light, energetic feel of her strokes. Like Cassatt, she painted mostly female subjects and gave insights into private female life at the time. I believe her genius lies in expressing a lot in just a few strokes, something I wish I could replicate.

Learning about Berthe Morisot inspired me to try harder to experiment and try out new brushes to add imperfections to my art. I drew her portrait below—definitely way too stiff for her taste, but I didn’t use the perfect round brush! And I drew a scene from when we visited Monterey, using more of a painting style. I also gathered a bunch of images to capture her aesthetic.

Which painting of hers is your favorite?

Berthe Morisot Mood Board

(click on the image to be taken to the source)

FPP Ugly Sweater Block

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays……in October! Today Amy Smart and I are up for the Riley Blake Designs Hush Hush 2 blog tour. Hush Hush 2 is the follow up low volume collection collaboration from all your favorite RBD designers (my contribution is the sweet strawberry print).

To celebrate, all of the designers are taking turns creating a free pattern for a 3” embroidery hoop ornament using the Hush Hush 2 prints. I was brainstorming holiday theme ideas and my daughter said “make an ugly sweater!” So I did.

It’s my first official foundation paper pieced (FPP) block pattern. It took more than a few brain cells to figure out, but I’m happy with the result. These sweaters are teeny! And not really ugly, super cute. You can fussy cut a design for the main part of the sweater, or embroider a design on some plain fabric (I couldn’t resist adding sparkle elbow patches to the red sweater).

Click on the link below to download the FREE pattern. You will have to checkout through my store, but shouldn’t enter any payment information. While there, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. In November I’ll be sending out another free FPP house block pattern.

Download the FPP Ugly Sweater Pattern HERE

Visit the rest of the store HERE

Roar quilt pattern

It’s finally out! The Roar quilt pattern that accompanies the Roar fabric collection. This quilt is so fast to sew. So fast! I think I’m going to add large borders to all my quilts from now on! I designed it so that the edges look like trex teeth and there’s a bonus pattern for the back to add dino tracks. To celebrate the release, I’m putting all my quilt patterns on sale for the week. Get 20% off at checkout, no code needed.

The pattern includes a bonus dino track block to add to the back!

Roar Panel Projects

The Roar fabric collection is now in stores! I don't know who is more excited for it to be here--my dinosaur-obsessed nephew or my volcano-obsessed son. There's so many projects to make with it, but if you are having a hard time choosing which one, start with the project panel.

The project panel has an easy drawstring backpack and 3 dinosaur pillows. I made these projects simple enough that you can sew them with your kids or grandkids. I created two tutorial videos to walk you through the entire process below. Enjoy!

Find the Roar fabric collection through Riley Blake Designs at the following stores:
Simply Love Fabrics
​The Sewcial Stitch
The Quilters Crossing
Going Coastal Fabrics

the Emma fabric collection

Mid March 2020 my friends and I sat down in a mostly empty theater to watch the long awaited new adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. All thoughts of a rapidly spreading virus in Asia were put aside as we were enveloped in the bright and happy world director Autumn DeWilde created. I walked out completely inspired by the costumes, sets, houses, landscaping, wallpaper, interiors, food, dancing, etc. I immediately had to draw it all out and the Emma fabric collection was born.

This collection is a follow up to the Pemberley collection released a few years ago. You will recognize a few reoccurring motifs like the manors and the dancers. I love chinoiserie interiors and definitely wanted that to be the focus of this collection--there are peonies, flowering branches, birds, and butterflies in classic mints, pinks, and yellows.

Along with the collection, I designed the Hartfield Manor quilt pattern. This quilt pattern is another big block, easy sew pattern that shows off the fabric. I wanted to combine a chippendale caning look with an English garden maze. The pattern will be released Friday July 22, 2022. You can get a copy of it HERE.

Stockists with Emma:
​Simply Love Fabrics
Fabric Bubb
Stitches and Giggles
​Fat Quarter Shop
Pine Needles Utah

trend report: check

The vest one is totally Elton from Clueless, am I right?? Pictures are linked with the source. See the whole Pinterest board HERE

When I say check, what do you picture? I’m immediately transformed back to my childhood where I’m trading pogs at recess and trying to keep my gigapet alive. Or arguing with my siblings about which beanie baby is the cutest (obviously Congo the gorilla, which some people are selling for $15,000?!)

Honestly I was a little aghast when I started walking into stores and seeing all of the check. Of all the patterns, check is my least favorite—it assaults my eyes. I’m equally repulsed and intrigued by it. I thought for sure the trend would pass quickly, but years later, it’s still here and dare I say, getting better? All of the photos above have shown up in my feed from accounts that I follow within the past month—three home interior ones just on Monday…and I love it. This is the kind of check I can do!

This change from disgust to allure made me curious so I decided to do a deep dive into check. Turns out, when I hear check, I shouldn’t be picturing Clueless, I should picture cave painters and wooly mammoths. Check is one of the earliest, if not the earliest pattern ever drawn by man.

Crazy, huh? Check even inspired several variations, all of which are considered “check patterns” (something I didn’t know). Gingham, buffalo check, shepherd’s check, houndstooth, plaid, tartan, windowpane check, tattersall, madras, argyle, glen, and pin check are all iterations of check.

Lately there have been a few check quilt pattern releases that have been inspiring. Something about this new infatuation with check is making me want to sew a check quilt with the Emma collection. Like an ode to the checked marble floors in the halls of Pemberley perhaps? I made some quick mock ups below.

Top L: Maggie Pearl by Penelope Handmade Top R: Illusion by Modern Handcraft Bottom L: Dorothy by Penelope Handmade Bottom R: Traditional Irish Chain

So what do you think? Are you now converted to team check? How do you see yourself incorporating check into your designs?

Take the Check quiz and comment below to enter the newsletter giveaway! (Please include your email address or instagram handle in your comment so I can contact you if you win)

-Rachel