Sharing threads of creativity 🧵 Written by Sara Barnes

Hi, hello!

It's my first Orts of 2026, coming at you at the beginning of February. Sounds about right for me. If you're new here, I've got my 5/5 format this week, which includes five inspiring makers and/or projects, and five ways for you to DIY.

👇 Scroll down to get creative! Then, reply to this email and tell me what you're watching/listening to while you work. For me, it's mystery audiobooks.

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Minneapolis-based artist Emily Quandahl creates quilt squares with vinyl. They are beautiful, especially when the light shines through them. And, because of the way they are constructed, they can have two totally different sides to them. In her latest piece, one side appears to be an otherwise ordinary quilt square. But round the corner, and the design is different, with an urgent message. “And I’ll say with my whole chest,” she writes.

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1️⃣ To weave is to tell a story, one that Pam Connolly does through vintage potholders in her series Columbus Drive. The piece features family photos, archival canvas, and thread to “retell the story of her childhood in suburban New Jersey during the 1960s and 1970s.”

2️⃣ When you touch this fabric, a new element appears. Watch Yuri Himuro’s textile design come to life when someone puts their hand on it.

3️⃣ This is so cute. A hand-stitched bat portrait where you unfurl its wings to reveal a stitching supplies carrying case.

4️⃣ Growing up, I loved LEGOs. (As an adult, for the record, I still do.) And if you’re willing to go off instructions, there are seemingly endless creative possibilities. Just take a look at this piece by Dante Dentoni and Virginia Casado Polo.

5️⃣ Look closely at Jes Young and her Porceain Pigeon Nests, and you'll see that her pigeons are the star of the show, but that's not all. The bottle caps, rubber bands, cigarette butts, salt packets, and more are all made of clay. It makes this series even more fun and charming.

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Last year, I began teaching custom pet portrait workshops. Basically, I design an embroidery kit for you, based on your pet, and I teach you how to stitch it all at the workshop. They are so much fun!

If you're in the Seattle/Tacoma area, join me at one of my upcoming workshops.

All of my workshops are listed on my events page.

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1️⃣ The Melt the ICE knitting hat pattern has gone viral. For $5, you can download the pattern, and the proceeds will go to local immigrant aid organizations in Minneapolis. It's also the subject of this larger article about crativitism.

2️⃣ Need more yarn? Instead of buying a new skein, take a look at your local thrift store and unspin a sweater instead.

3️⃣ Another reason I wish I knitted. This Peony Vest pattern is so cute and so versatile for late winter into spring and even summer. I love the wavy placket design.

4️⃣ Crochet a bird! Crochet Cartel Co. has all sorts of winged creatures you can craft in three dimensions.

5️⃣ If you’ve ever wanted to try screen printing but are feeling intimidated by all the… stuff you’d need to buy, take a look at this video. It turns out that you can create a screen using mesh fabric, an embroidery hoop, Mod Podge, and screen printing ink.

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Try all the crafts this summer ✂️

​Camp Craftaway is back for our 5th year! If you're unfamiliar with it, it's an adults-only day camp I host with Melissa of MCreativeJ where you get to try a whole bunch of different crafts in one super creative weekend. We just released our workshop schedule with what we'll be crafting this year. Join us August 14 - 16, 2026, in Des Moines, WA (just south of Seattle).

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Talk to you next week,

Sara Barnes Embroidery illustrator and writer

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2206 17th Ave S, Seattle, WA 91844
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